Centrifugal flying toy



Aug, 2, 1960 w. o. DoDD, JR.. ETAL CENTRIFUGAL FLYING TOY Filed Feb. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 `wil/fam o. Dodd.

Clin/0n A. Hicks INVENToRs Y Amm...

ana/sway MU,

Aug. 2, 1960 w. o. DoDD, JR., Erm'. l2,947,108

CENTRIFUGAL FLYING TOY Filed Feb. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5 3@ /34 ,4

Will/'am 0. Dodd. Jl:

www 5ML@ l Y 2,947,108 CENTRIFUGAL FLYING ToY William ;Dnda, n1., 202s Linnen, and clinton A. Hicks, 3906,N. Chadboume, both of San Angelo, Tex.

' 'Filed Febgs, 195s, ser. No. 713,454 j z claims. (c1. 4671) This invention relates to amusement devices and par# tcularly to a toy that has a pilot stick together with a tethered object Controlled by maneuvers of the pilot stick and line to which the objectis secured.

An object of this invention is to provide an ainsement deviceV for all age groups, the amusement device having one or more 'of a large group of flying objects, for ler'r'ample rockets, airplanes, gliders, flying saucers, satellites, and many others 'too numerous to list, together Vwith a flexible control line by which theV flying object is tethered, and a pilot handle. These parts are connected in a manner which will enable the user to fly the tethered object numerous patterns and perform numerous acrobaties, llight attitudes, etc.v

An 'important feature of this invention involves the handle and its construction. The handle is made vsectional so that it can be extended or shortened depending on the ydesires and needs of the user. Moreover, the longer handle will .produce a dierent response than the shorter/handle Vin the iiight of the tethered object.

Another "mi'pt'at "feature of the invention is the convltrol line i''ner end tr'tctin. A ring or other safety grip is at the 'ertremity et 'the liiierami there 'is arfull 13,60' lishernrahs swivel'eoirnecting the .ring to `the l'ire.

WeigHt'line material capable fwithstanding considerable loads. By having Ithe full 360 swivel, a large num- Y herbfight patterns can be achievedwhich wouldordiusing the amusement deviceV will obtain considerable enjoyment by improvising various flights of the tethered' as the object, for example an airplane, passes a persons back and approaches his right side, provided vthe handle is held in the Vright hand, grasp the retainer in the left hand and pull back to the left and in an outward direction withl the retainer so that by the time the plane is in front, the right arm and handle have moved to the `left together withV the airplane and it will now circlein i front of the person and by swinging the plane outwardly and away from the person while at the same time pulling back the control line, the lfull horizontal circle is resumed.v To complete vertical circles,'the retainer is taken by the left hand and moved outward and lto the left in lorder that this taking up of flight line prevents the plane from crashing to the ground. While doing these vertical circles it is quite enjoyable to'perform stalls. When the plane is above the users head, the line is released and the airplane will plunge nose first downward to the ground in a full kor partial stall.V Before it crashes to the ground,

Y 2,947,108 Patented Aug. 2.,A 1960 ICC howeven'theslack in the -line is pulled upland the *airplane f will climb/out of the dive without crashing thereby performing a stall out.

. A 'figure veight '.nrn'euver is accomplishedl whilethe plane is in vertical circle pattern. This is accomplished by transferring the vertical circles from a persons left hand to his right 'side and back again. The airplane and handle so complement each other that the airplane will maintain iiigh't b"y merely pulling'o'ut and let-ting in on the retainer rhythmically rather than by wrist movement of the handle. Bringing the airplane in for a perfect three point landing may be obtained by skillfully utilizing the retainer and proper handle movements.

This invention, by virtue of the handle, retainer at the end of the control line, the control line itself and the tethered object achieves a feel at the retainer which actually transfers essentially the airplane and related control sensations. 1

Other objects, features of importance, operational Hight patternsI and `uses will become apparent in following the description 'of the illustrated form of the invention.

Figure l is a schematic representation showing the invention Vin use. l Y.

Figure 2Vis an 'elevational group view showing components of the 'sectional handle that constitutesa part of the invention. f

Figure isa .fragmentary enlarged sectional view of tht-,sectional handle andline.

Y Figure fl "is a perspective View of a suggested tethered object atthe end of the line.-

Figure 5 i's a fragmentary front/view "showingth'e use an auxiliary guide. for the l'inenear one wing 'tip of the airplane 'of Figure 4. Y

Figure '6 is a fragmentary/perspective View showing Vconnection of the line with the airplane withoutusing the anxinarygnide. Y Y Y n In the accompanying drawings there is shown .an amusement device 1(l,which exemplifiesA therprinciples ofY the invention. This amusement device hasfa ,tether object eroga* tives, customer Vaeceptnc'e and oth'e'r eni reasons'. The object 1Q. being an airplane, has a fuselage 16, wings 128, an empennage 20, a free turning propeller 22 and a landing gear 24. rCounterweight '26 in front of the center of lift of the airplane is required in most instances.

Line 14 has a full 360 shermans swivel 28 near its outerrend and a fastener 30 connecting the swivel to an eye 32 carried by the top of fuselage 16. Fastener 30 can Yalso be a iishermans fastener as is swivel 28. Moreover, the control line 14 should be flexible and strong, especially to withstand impact shocks and therefore, nylon such as used in ishing leaders, is an excellent line material. Others such as different types of nylon, silk., cord, etc, can be used, although the nontwisted nylon such as found in 4fishing leaders, is excellent. Direct connection (Figure 6) between the control line i4 and the fuselage is ysuggested for some maneuvers. Other maneuvers are better performed by usingthe auxiliary guide 34 near one of the Ywing tips. The auxiliary guide is made of a wire support 36 attached at one end ofthe wing and rising upwardly from the topy surface of the wing. An eye 38 is formed at the upper extremity of the support, 4as by forming a ring of the wire. Control line 14 can be threaded into the eye or threaded therefrom (Figure 5). When the flying object 12 has some other configuration, there will be in common, an eye 32 or corresponding means by which to attach Ythe outer end l v- Y 2,947,108

of the control line 14 to the object. The auxiliary guide 34 can be used or omitted.

The inner end of line 14 has a iishermans swivel 48 I capable of a full 360 rotation, attached to it and a fastener 50 securedto the Swivel 48. Finger ring52 is secured to fastener 50's'o that the ring can be h'eldAXed while line 14 is capable of rotating." :Finger'ring'52 can be substituted by a knob or any other easily held article. Y

Handle 54 has the control line 14 passed through its longitudinal passageway V56.V The passageway extends l completely through the handle that is formed of a plurality of sections. Four typical sections 58,60, 62 and 64 are shown in Figure 2. The lowermost section 58 has a hand grip 66' that can be made in several ways, one of which is to have upper and lower ribs 68 and 70 between which there are peripheral grooves 72'. It is preferred, although not essential, that the handle sections be made of plastic. The handle section 58 has a bore 74 that constitutes a part of passageway 56, and the lower end of the bore has a smaller diameter, smoothedged opening 76. The edges of opening 76 guide the line 14 as it moves in and through passageway 56.

Section 60 and section 62IV are identical. The section 60 has a bore 78 and a counterbore 80, each of which constitutes a part of the passageway 56. v Shoulder 82 separates the reduced diameter portion 84,within which the bore 78 is formed, and the shoulder abuts the outer end of section 58 when the reduced portion 84 of section 60 is inserted in bore 74. The same construction and method of attachment applies to the connection between section 62 and section 60. Section 64 is tubular, having a central bore 86. It lits in the bore of section 62 and is held in place by friction. The sections can be cemented together or merely held together by friction, this depending on the desire of the owner. y Just as the edges of opening 76 are smooth, the edges of opening 88 at the outer end of section 64 must be smooth to prevent abrasion of control line 14. f

It is understood that various modications and changes' may be made without departing from the invention as claimed. Y

What is claimed as new s as follows:` Y

1. An amusement device comprising a tethered object, a exible control line, a swivel connector attaching said object to the outer end of said control line, a ring adapted to be held by one hand of a user of the device, a swivel directly connected to said ring and to the inner end of 4 said control line thereby isolating the part of said control line between said tethered object and said ring from the hand of the user and from said tethered object whereby to enable turning of said control line about its longitudinal axis independently of said ring and object, a straight control handle adapted to be held in the other hand of the user and having a straight, uninterrupted :longitudinal passageway' extending therethrough in a straight line from end to endthereof, said control line extending in a straight line through said passageway and being freely slidably disposed Vand rotatable therein, said handle consisting of a plurality of straight sections each having an end 'to end bore therethrough constituting part of said passageway, adjacent ends of parts of adjacent sections having a telescoping engagement with each other and with the end of one section of a pair being of reduced external and internal diameter and being telescopingly received in the adjacent end of the other section of said pair, said sections being separably connected by said telescoping engagements whereby to alter the length of said handle while maintaining said continuous passageway therethrough by varying the number of connected sections, said control ring and the rotatable and slidable disposition of said isolated part of said control line in said handle enabling control for'ce to be applied to the control line at one end thereof by one hand of the user while the handle is independently manipulated by the other hand of the user whereby to elect sensitive control of said tethered object.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said-reduced end portions of said handle sections have diametrically reduced bores extending therethrough whereby to reduce the clearance of the control line in its movement within said passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

